I’m catching up on my reading these days.
As predictably as cookie recipes dominate December magazines, January columns feature suggestions for resets. Budgeting to address holiday overspending is a theme, as are tips for starting fresh in many departments.
The business section of newspapers offers tax advice, plus a stream of narrative on how to plot the trajectory of careers, from beginning to end.
We are at the point in our lives, however, when even rooting through years of accumulated cookbooks can seem overwhelming, there are so many. As for reviewing financial decisions and examining various scenarios, as the experts and our advisors suggest? It used to be easier when “the future” seemed to stretch far off into the distant horizon.
I’ve learned that in France, retirement is viewed as something akin to attaining paradise.
From what I have gleaned about the perspectives of aging Americans, however, it appears there are mixed reactions toward retirement, especially the challenge of regaining one’s footing and creating a new daily rhythm, once the structure of working life is removed.
Personally, I have no intention of sailing off into the sunset with a group curated by decade, since I have established that enjoying sustained interactions with people of all ages enriches my life.
It is also stimulating to stay abreast of social changes in each age group, given how quickly society is changing.
For example, I was astonished to read that teachers in the U.S. are coping with students using chatbots to write papers and complete take-home tests. (I’d like to ask Alexa and Siri their opinions about this, but that would be the cheating.)
Returning to oral recitations and handwritten papers are remedies educators are entertaining, and though retro, I wonder if these practices could offer benefits for intergenerational communication and individual creativity.
After all, as with fashion trends, what was old is new again.
Public speaking and legible penmanship are valuable tools.
The value of learning?
Timeless. ©
